Media Training Update – w/c 26th June

“Oh come on, we’re not gonna start there, we’re not gonna start on misconduct…”

Train wreck interview number 1 from Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, desperately keen to talk about a lick of paint for a police station and rather less keen to talk about systemic problems in his force. 

According to ITV News reporter Sam Holder, “We were told we could ask anything. However that turned out not to be the case.”

WATCH HERE

It’s Monday 26 June.

Good morning. The week ahead…

Monday: Hajj begins 

Tuesday: Launch window opens for Virgin Galactic’s first commercial spaceflight

RCN strike ballot result expected

Wednesday: Kevin Spacey stands trial on a string of sexual assault charges

Second men’s Ashes test begins

Thursday: (and Friday) EU Leaders Summit 

Friday: The government’s attempt to block its own inquiry from accessing Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages is heard at the High Court

Saturday: London and Madrid Pride rallies



UK assumes presidency of the UN Security Council

“I don’t feel that I’m prepared at all for this, Ami. And it’s all getting a little bit above my station, sorry.”

Train wreck interview number 2 from Lib Dem candidate for Somerton and Frome Sarah Dyke for the Guardian politics podcast. Asked about deprivation in the area she said she’d drunk her coffee a bit too fast, before asking “what do you want to know?”

Enter stage left Ami (the aforementioned Lib Dem press officer) who suggests getting the candidate a glass of water before the interview is terminated. 

LISTEN HERE (12 minutes in)

Rare Shameless Plug…

I was asked to run a series of half day sessions on Pitching to Journalists last week. We gathered insights from a wide range of senior producers and print editors and there are some terrific tips. It works well for small or big groups, online or in-person. As you know the MMB is never about plugging stuff, but we put a lot of work into it and are proud of the result, so if you’d like more info give us a shout. 

(CNN’s Media Correspondent Oliver Darcy on the extraordinary events in Russia this weekend…)

On the Inside Edge website – Tony’s A-Z of media training: 

I is for Indent:

There is no “right” length to an interview answer but it might be helpful to visualise your wording as if it was laid out on a page. A paragraph should embody a single thought so a few sentences is a pretty good baseline for an answer that allows you to get in to a bit of substance but is also digestible for the presenter and audience. Expand on some responses; be sharper with others. Variety is good. A para that last a whole page is never good – so edit yourself or you will be interrupted.

READ MORE

BBC Breakfast proudly unveils its new studio. Which looks strikingly similar to the old one…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Footnotes:

“Ich bin ein Berliner.” JFK made his ground-breaking speech in Berlin offering American solidarity to the citizens of West Germany on this day in 1963. 120,000 Berliners gathered to hear the President speak.

Highs of 23 degrees in London today and 20 in Newcastle.

And this week’s dog-pic-footnote…lazy sunny days

Back on Monday. Have a super week.



Team Inside Edge